laminate flooring around door frames

[bowser]

I am laying some laminate flooring in the lounge room and am having difficulty fitting boards around steel door frames. Any suggestions?

[AlexS]

First, it's easier to do this if you remove the skirting boards first. It's relatively easy to cut out the correct shape around the door frame, but not so easy if you have to do a rip cut that has to but up neatly against the skirting.

You can buy a profile template - looks like a double-sided comb with lots of wire teeth that slide in a metal holder in the middle. Press this up against the door frame, then transfer the shape of it to the floorboard, being careful to get it in the right position.

Once you've marked it, cut out the shape with a fretsaw or other tools. For safety, you might want to cut almost to the line and take the last but out with a chisel.

Unfortunately, even the smallest gap sticks out like dog's thingies, but you can get sealant in a colour that matches your floor, which will hide any gap.

With wooden door frames, you cut a rebate the thickness of the floor into the botom of the frame & architraves and run the floor under it. Bit difficult with steel though.

[seriph1]

spending time making an accurate cardboard or polyprop (plastic computer binder material) template would do the trick, I feel ..... being steel it is a fair certainty that you will only have to make one template.

If you can, please post a pic of the project -